[yorkipower]

Thank you!

Funny that your reply comes now because I JUST got an email from Bun's earthdog instructer in my office. Here's some excerpts from her letter. I think she really helped to pinpoint AKC's argument and what it is that we need to demonstrate in order to get their admission (if we still think it makes sense)I've also included my email to her so you have the context:

My letter:
Just following up with you regarding AKC's response to my letter. I did do some research on ratting competitions from the 19th and late 18th century. All I could find out about them is that the objective was to pit two or more terriers against a field of rats and see which one could kill the most. Not exactly what I had in mind. There was reference in that article as in a number of others I have seen that do talk about Yorkies being use for hunting, (Hudderfield Ben was used for "hunting") but all I can find is mention no hard facts. Since Yorkies are the descendants of terriers like the Clydesdale, Broken Coat, and Sky, I do not know how they can say Yorkies were not working terriers. The name "Yorkshire Terrier" was attached to a breed that already existed as the "Scotch Terrier." They were only "improved" in Yorkshire. Surely, the early "prototypes" would have been used for similar purposes as the breeds that went into the creation of the Yorkie breed type. Why else infuse those characteristics? The problem is I can only make inferences because no hard facts exist. How can I prove something without access to any evidence that could support my case?

Parts of her answer:

I adhere to the AKC's policy of opening hunting tests only to breeds which have a history of doing the particular job. In order to support your argument, I would have to have information that shows that Yorkshire Terriers were once used for traditional British earth work.
As Ms. Deithorn mentioned, earthdogs are dogs which go into the burrow of a wild animal and either bay, bolt, or kill it. In the history of England, the three natural quarry of the earthdog were red fox, otter, and badger. In Germany, the dachshund was used on red fox and badger. There was no other earth dwelling quarry that earthdogs pursued. Ferrets were used to go into rat and rabbit burrows in England.

The earthdog trial system was originally developed in Europe to help the hunters educate their hunting earthdogs before they took them hunting. They have been doing this kind of artificial activity for well over 100 years.

In Europe, the tests use red fox for quarry. In some systems, the fox is loose in the tunnels along with the dog. In all systems, the dog must dominate the fox to qualify. In Russia, the quarry is sometimes raccoon dog, which is an animal a little larger than a raccoon. In
Sweden, the quarry is a badger. The tests closely simulate the real situation in order to be valuable to the hunter and to evaluate the dog's potential as an earthdog.

When the tests were developed in the US in the early 70's, the original quarry was woodchuck, but it quickly became laboratory rats. This was due solely to legal considerations and persists as a flaw in the system. Lab rats are not dangerous to a dog and pose no sort of challenge to their safety. A working earthdog needs skills and physical attributes that can't be tested in our system. These qualities are important, because if he doesn't have the correct conformation, intelligence, and courage he will not survive the work.

Many breeds with a history of being ratters are not suited to being earthdogs, either because of their conformation or because of their disinterest in going to ground or marking a motionless quarry. This is natural, and they should be encouraged to be what they are, which is ratters. I have often encouraged people with ratting breeds to develop a test which is suitable for their breeds rather than expecting them to do something which is not their forte. I have even started this concept with my "Ratting for Ratings" test and "Search and Partnership" where the dogs find rats hiding in places that rats would hide. The skills needed for a good ratter are speed, hyper-alertness, flexibility, good nose, good eyes, good ears, strong jaw, high pain threshold, and determination. These are not all the same attributes needed in a good earthdog, so there is reason to celebrate them as unique to the ratting breeds.

When you come here in the spring, I will show you video of dogs ratting and also of dogs going to ground on earth quarry if you want to see them. They are two very different activities and maybe seeing dogs doing these things will help you understand the differences.

Meanwhile, your research into the history of your breed should lead you as far back as possible. The traditional earthdog breeds can be traced back to a time when they were used for pursuing earth quarry in their native countries. With alot of effort, you will be able to do this for Yorkies, too. I found the AKC library in New York to be my best resource when I was researching the breeds for my earthdog book. You would probably find some great information there.

This may entail getting to the AKC library in New York and some hands on research (yeah, between 2 and 4 AM?). From what I have been able to gather, the Yorkie's history is pretty sketchy. It makes sense that a barely illiterate coal miner from Northern England would not have spent much time documenting his breeding program. Yet, we need evidence that traces back as far as we can go as to the history of the Yorkshire Terrier and whether they were used for hunting.

The alternative, is something along the lines my instructer suggests of creating a program where Yorkie's hunting instincts for ratting could be tested. I just wouldn't want this to become a senseless bloodbath like the "ratting pits" of ages past nor would I want something that would put Yorkies in danger of picking up catagious diseases that rats harbor. The best lead I can think of is to do something like what they did for gaze hounds with lure coursing, creating a fake "Bunny."

What do you guys think?